Page 49 of The Rancher's Wedding

Estelle looked around once more at the plain and noticed the shadows stretched across the landscape.

“Are we going to be okay?” she asked. “The sun’s starting to get pretty low.”

It was moving toward the horizon, spreading the colors of fire into the sky, giving everything a beautiful glow and allowing the brightest of the stars to come out, albeit faintly.

“We’ll be fine,” Michael said. “We’re almost there.”

He was right. It couldn’t have been much more than a quarter mile when Michael dismounted and asked Estelle to do the same so they could tie their horses to a tree.

“I want you to close your eyes,” Michael said. “Tight.”

She looked at him and he nodded.

“You trust me, don’t you?”

She did.

“Now, walk forward slowly, one step at a time. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

She did so.

“Stop!” Michael said. “Now, take a deep breath. I’ve got you, okay? Slowly open your eyes.”

Estelle opened her eyes and her first reaction was fear. She jumped up and Michael held her to keep her from falling.

They were at the edge of the cliff, with a sharp drop off perhaps hundreds of feet down.

“Like I said,” Michael said. “I’ve got you.”

And he did. She felt reassured in his arms and looked forward. Her heart still raced, but what she realized was that it felt like she could see everything for miles off into the distance. It was all illuminated by that red-hued light, as if a painter wanted to put as much beauty into the image as he possibly could.

“Make sure you remember to breathe,” Michael said.

It must have been half a minute or so without a breath. She took in the air while looking out at the sunset and the plains of Utah. It made her realize how cluttered cities felt, with everything crammed into as small an area as possible. There was so much land out there. And this was just one state. Part of one state. She couldn’t imagine how big the Earth must be.

“This is remarkable,” she said.

She thought back to Ethan trying to buy her love and realized no matter how rich he was, he couldn’t afford this much land. But, at this moment, without paying a penny, she felt as if it all belonged to her. There weren’t any other humans around claiming it. In fact, the only other human around was Michael.

He turned her around and looked into her eyes as she stared back, seeing the reflection of the world in his. And she was at the center of it.

The wind blew her hair around, so Michael reached forward and pulled a strand out of her face. He leaned forward, closing his eyes, and softly kissing her on the mouth.

This afternoon had already been unbelievable for Estelle, one of the best of her life, and now, with one simple kiss, Michael removed any competition. She had never been happier in her life.

When he eventually pulled back and looked at her, he said, “I’ve been wanting to do that again ever since our wedding night.”

Estelle blushed, “So have I.” She giggled, feeling like she was ten years younger. “I wish you’d have done it sooner.”

“Me, too,” he said. “I guess we’re going to have to make up for lost time.”

He kissed her again.

The first time he kissed her, time stopped. The second time, her heart exploded with happiness. This third kiss not only killed her with inner joy and contentment, it also brought her back to life.

“I’d like to stay here forever,” Michael said, “but it’s going to be getting dark soon, and it’s going to get cold. We’d better get back while we still can.”

Estelle was disappointed. She wanted the day to last forever, and the setting sun wouldn’t allow it.

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